The Journey
by ragingshiftingwindsofchange
Summary: Kurt is being bullied torment by Karofsky. After a death threat, Kurt leaves McKinley in favor of Welton-an all boys boarding school. He makes new friends and learns about life and stuff. Takes place before DPS movie, so no Keating or Todd.
1. Chapter 1

It was the last five minutes of Glee club's Wednesday meeting. Kurt shook desperately as he spoke before his fellow members of the Glee club. His public announcements usually ended in a musical number, and this would prove to be no such occasion.

"As you all know, Karofsky has been tormenting me for some time now, and, recently, it's gotten very serious." He could already see their faces beginning to drop. "I love Glee club and I love all of you. You have brought me so much more than I ever could have imagined when I signed up to audition last year. But I don't feel safe at McKinley anymore."

He finished his speech, "So, I'm transferring to Welton Academy, an all boys-."

Before he could even finish, the rest of the club burst out in protest. "But we need you, Kurt!" Tina cried.

Rachel said, probably without thinking, "What if I need a last minute makeover?"

Even Puck chimed in, "Yeah, dude, you're voice is totally sick."

Kurt's muscles tensed up, "While I appreciate how much you all seem to care about my presence here, none of you seem to care about my safety. Welton is just outside of Akron, so it's far enough away that Karofsky won't be able to find me."

Finn, who was nearly always as stoic as a boulder (as well as dumb as one) shed a tear and said, "We want what's best for you, Kurt. I guess it's hard to think of you anywhere but here."

Kurt nodded to him. "Well, the papers are already signed. This is my last week at McKinley."

"Well, we're all certainly going to miss you, Kurt." Mr. Schuester said, placing a comforting hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"Thanks, Mr. Schue." Kurt said, smiling a little. And despite the fact that Mr. Schue had never really been there for him and had been such a bad Spanish teacher that he transferred to French - Kurt would miss them. He would miss all of them.

And as they pulled in for a final group hug, Kurt even let himself shed a few tears. In less than three days, he would be in an entirely new situation, starting a new school and making new friends. In that group hug, he allowed his mixed emotions of anxiety and anticipation wash away - he let himself be sad about leaving.

Even if only just for that moment.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Friday afternoon - five minutes until the final bell. Kurt was a mix of excitement and drooping eyelids as his soon-to-be former English teacher rattled about weekend homework, from which he was obviously excused. Kurt vaguely heard him say something about a reading assignment, and recognized the customary groan that erupted from the class.

"And don't forget about taking notes for this section of the novel!" Mrs. Hagberg said over the whining. "You never know if I'll be coming around to check them." In two and a half years in Mrs. Hagberg's English class, Kurt had never once had his notes collected.

But he was not thinking about that now. With less than a minute left of his high school career at McKinley, all Kurt could think about was Welton. God, how would he ever be able to get _used_ to that? Getting out of Lima, getting to go somewhere academically driven, getting away from everything that had made his life a living hell - it was going to be fantastic. Granted, he realized that Akron was still _in_ Ohio, and it was still a boring city with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

But Kurt had seen pictures of the campus online. All the buildings were architecturally gorgeous; every single one was made of red-brick and stone. The extensive grounds included fields of grass in every direction, a giant lake, walking trails that led all over the spectacular place. And the entire campus was surrounded by acres and acres of forest. Kurt could certainly get used to _that_.

Lost in his day-dream of Welton landscaping, Kurt didn't notice that the final bell had rung. Everyone was standing up to leave, Mrs. Hagberg shouted her final parting words, ("Have a nice weekend - just don't make it too nice.") and it all came crashing down on Kurt. He was _done_. McKinley could kiss his ass for all he cared because _it__ was __over_. God, that felt good to think.

He nearly skipped out of his chair. Eager to pick up Mercedes at his locker as they had planned. "Hey, Kurt!" Mrs. Hagberg called as he was about to reach the door.

Kurt walked over to the teacher's desk. Mrs. Hagberg gave him this little smile, "I guess this is the last time I'll ever be seeing you here."

Kurt nodded sharply as a smile slid across his face. "Yep." He said eagerly.

"When are you heading over to Welton?" It surprised Kurt a little that she remembered where he was transferring. No other teacher had said more than the required, "Enjoy your new school, Kurt."

"Uh, we're moving me up there tomorrow."

"Well that's nice." Mrs. Hagberg shifted her weight a little. "Kurt, I just want to say that you are one of the smartest students I have ever taught. Seriously, you're ability to grasp and grapple with the world is phenomenal - never let yourself forget about that."

Kurt smiled widely; no teacher had shown such interest in him since he was "that kid with the dead mom" in elementary school. "Thanks, Mrs. Hagberg. You were always one of my favorite teachers."

Her face brightened up, smiling joyously at Kurt. "Well, I don't want to keep you waiting if you have to get out of here. Goodbye, Kurt. Good luck at Welton!"

"Thanks, bye." Kurt gave her a little wave as he walked out of the classroom grinning.

He turned down the hall to find Mercedes already at his locker, smiling more widely than usual. As Kurt opened his locker for the last time, he said, "What are _you_ so happy about? Another Aretha tissue on eBay?"

Before Kurt could say anything else, Mercedes was wrapped around him, hugging the living Gaga out of him. After the initial shock wore off, he hugged Mercedes back. "I'm gonna miss you _so_ much, girlfriend." Kurt whispered in Mercedes's ear.

Mercedes pulled away, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, "I'll miss you too, but, honestly, I'm just happy that you're going to be safe."

Kurt smiled back at her genuinely. "Thanks." While piling the rest of his belongings into his messenger bag, Mercedes adds, "So, do you mind if we stop by the choir room on the way out? I forgot my water bottle in there yesterday after Glee rehearsal."

"Yeah, no problem." Kurt said, closing his empty locker for the last time. "Well, bye old friend." He nostalgically placed a hand on the cold metal, nearly shuddering at the thought of how many times he had been shoved into his own locker.

Without another word, the two walked to the choir room. They began chatting absently about Burt and Carole's wedding from the previous weekend. Kurt commented on the elegant decor, while Mercedes complained that her chicken was undercooked. Kurt smiled widely at his best friend, "This is why I'm going to miss you so much. Who will put everything in perspective for me?"

"Oh, quiet, boy. I'll be on skype every second of the day I'm not in school, church, or Glee. You call me anytime of day." Mercedes lightly pinched his elbow, an affectionate habit of hers, and Kurt giggled shrilly at the sudden tickle.

Before they even had time to open the door to the choir room, "SURPRISE!" Kurt laughed happily in genuine surprise. The entire Glee club was standing in front of him, smiling like idiots. A banner behind them read, "We'll miss you, Kurt!" Everyone had their arms up in the air; Rachel, of course, doing jazzy flourishes. He nearly cried.

Mr. Schue spoke up. "You didn't think we would let you go without a proper goodbye, did you?" His least favorite teacher hugged him tightly - it took all of Kurt's will to keep from wincing. "You were an incredible addition to this Glee club, Kurt. We will all miss you greatly."

Kurt smiled at his friends, the only people he truly cared for at McKinley - the people he might actually be sad to leave. "Thanks," he choked out, keeping his smile full and happy.

Rachel suddenly ran over and gave him a hug. Whispering into his ear, she said, "You were always my only competition here. I hope you do that for somebody else over at Welton."

That was probably the closest thing to a compliment that Rachel Berry had ever given anyone. She quickly pulled away from the hug, and said, "So, we got you a cake to say goodbye." Motioning back to the group, they parted to reveal an ice-cream cake that said, "Good luck at Welton!"

"Well, let's dig in before it melts!" Mr. Schue said. Kurt refused to let anyone help him cut it. Anything but his own hands would be less than perfect. Cutting the tiny cake into perfectly sized pieces, he gave one to everybody else before keeping the last piece to himself.

They quickly dispersed into their respective friend groups. Santana, Brittany, and Quinn stood together, rapidly discussing the latest mishap on the Cheerio's (some girl had been stupid enough to get caught making herself throw up - a freshman, no less). Artie, Sam, Mike, and Puck talked about the Buckeye's game that night and who they thought was going to win it all. Finn sat vacantly, looking as boulder-like as ever, and pretended to listen to Rachel's rapid-fire monologue about their competition for sectionals. Meanwhile, Tina and Mercedes asked Kurt about Welton.

"So, it's all boys, right?" Tina asked.

Kurt smiled. "Yep. Just an abundance of all the eye candy I could ever want. Plus, you know, safety and the fact that it's the best prep school in the country."

Santana called over from her pack, "You better get some while you're over there, got it Hummel?"

Kurt just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever, Santana."

Mercedes eyes met his, "Ignore her. Have you met your roommate yet?"

"No, but I've already facebook-stalked him multiple times." Kurt said, pulling out his iPhone to show them a picture. "His name is Neil Perry."

Mercedes and Tina both started fanning themselves. "_Damn,_ boy," Mercedes shouted excitedly.

"Yeah," Tina said, "me too. If I wasn't with Mike, I'd be all up on that."

"Hey!" Mike called from the other side of the room.

"I love you, babe!" Tina called back, blowing him a kiss. He smiled back stupidly, and continued the football discussion.

"Yeah, anyway, I'm just really excited for the classes. They said the French teacher _only_ speaks in French. I'm going to get _so_ fluent. And their show choir is one of the best in the state."

Rachel suddenly looked up. "The Wel-Tones? I heard they're the only choir Vocal Adrenaline ever feared. It's rumored that upon hearing the first note of The Wel-Tones signature song, "Teenage Dream", any given member of Vocal Adrenaline will faint in terror."

For a few moments, everyone stared at Rachel, trying to figure out whether or not she was serious. When she did not laugh, they all dismissed her Rachelness and went back to their respective conversations.

"Okay, everybody!" Mr. Schuester said. "Take your places. Kurt, if you will." He gestured to a seat in front of the rows of the choir room chairs. Kurt sat down warily, having a strong feeling he knew what was about to happen.

Standing in front of a jittery, excited Glee club, Mr. Schuester smiled at Kurt and said, "Kurt, we're going to miss you a whole lot. You bring so much to our Glee family; we certainly won't be the same without you." He walked over to the side of the room and continued, "So, we figured we'd send you off properly - with a grand musical number to show how much we care about you. Guys, take it away."

From the first note, Kurt knew the song that they were singing. He kept up a smile, but, _really_? How cliched could they get?

"Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand

Six Hundred Minutes

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand

Moments so dear

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand

Six Hundred Minutes

How Do You Measure - Measure A Year?"

Kurt, mentally scanning the lyrics he'd known since he was seven, tried to figure out why they chose this song for a goodbye. Probably because he enjoyed musical theater, but probably more likely because of its message of measuring up experiences. And, because Glee club is the cheesiest bunch of people at this school, it was about love.

"How About Love?

How About Love?

How About Love?

Measure In Love

Seasons of Love.

Seasons of Love."

Mercedes stepped forward and belted fabulously:

"Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand

Six Hundred Minutes

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand

Journeys To Plan

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand

Six Hundred Minutes

How Do You Measure The Life

Of A Woman Or A Man."

Artie wheeled himself forward, and moved so that he was next to Mercedes:

"In Truth That She Learned

Or In Times That He Cried

In Bridges He Burned

Or The Way That She Died."

The two joined together in counterpoint for the final lines before the chorus:

"It's Time Now - To Sing Out

Though The Story Never Ends

Let's Celebrate

Remember A Year In The Life Of Friends."

They came together in perfect harmonies to sing the final chorus. It nearly brought tears to Kurt's eyes. Up until now, he had only thought that he was their token-gay character. _Now_, and it was silly that this was the reason, a musical number was the thing that showed him that he was more than good fashion and music choice. He was a part of their family, and they would actually be sad to see him go.

"Measure, your life, measure your life in love."

Kurt smiled and brought them in for a group hug. He did not know what the next few days would bring, but he was certain that in that moment he was loved. And that was enough.

That was enough.


	3. Chapter 3

Sitting the principal's office, decked out in his snappy new uniform, hideous blazer and all, Kurt was nearly jumping out of his seat. With Burt and Carole on either side of him, he was ready to hop into a new life at Welton.

Mr. Nolan was an older man who looked like he spent a lot of time forgetting about the biblical strictures about gluttony. Kurt let his eyes wander around the office. Pretending to admire Nolan's artwork and furniture arrangements, he redecorated the room in his head.

Meanwhile, Nolan was saying, "So, everything's been all set up with your roommate, I see. Very good, Knox Overstreet is one of our finest boys. And your schedule is quite impressive for a sophomore. French 4?"

Kurt smiled. "_Oui,__je__parle__couramment._"

"_Ah,__très__bien.__Moi__aussi._ But," he let out a little chuckle, "I think we should stick to English for your parents' sake." Sure enough, both Burt and Carole had a look of confusion on their face.

Nolan turned his eyes back to Kurt's file, "I see that you have also expressed an interest in joining our show choir. I'm sure you've heard that the Wel-Tones are very exclusive."

Kurt nodded confidently, "Yes, I am aware."

Burt spoke up, "Kurt is an amazing singer. And he can hit high notes that you wouldn't know even if you let girls into this school."

Mr. Nolan shifted in his seat, "Yes, well, okay." He cleared his throat. "Actually, Knox Overstreet happens to be a member of the Wel-Tones. He's very promising."

Kurt nodded, "Okay, yeah, cool." His hands were starting to sweat with anticipation. He desperately wanted to get over to his room to start decorating. Who knew how long it would take to organize everything?

Nolan leaned forward in his seat. "Well, I think that's just about everything. And we just want to let you know that we're very happy to have you here with us at Welton, Kurt."

Kurt smiled, "Well, I'm thrilled to be here."

They all stood up, exchanged thank-you's and good-bye's, and the Hummel family left Mr. Nolan's office.

While walking back out to the car, they passed a pack of about six boys walking by. Their blazers loose, their top few buttons undone, and the bottom of their shoes clearly indicated that a walk through dirt and leaves had just occured. The only thing Kurt could catch out of their conversation: "Oh my _god_, Anderson - stop being so hot for me." And another boy, presumably Anderson, replied: "You fuckin' _wish_, Dalton."

Kurt watched the boys intently. The way they moved together was flawless, as if they had done it a million times. It seemed like they talked over each other in the spirit of one-upmanship, but, really, they all knew what the other ones were going to say. It was closeness - familiarity - something Kurt had never had with a group of boys. Kurt certainly would not mind being a part of their friend group, especially if Anderson was involved. The quick look at him that Kurt got - those perfect brown curls, the multi-hued eyes, and his incredible smile - Kurt would definitely need to find some alone time soon.

Burt did not notice Kurt's distraction; Carole pretended not to see. "Come on, Kurt," She said hurriedly, "Let's go find your dorm and get you unpacked so your dad and I don't have to drive back at night."

Kurt hesitated, and, just for a second or two, let his eyes wander directly below Anderson's belt. "Yeah," he breathed out, "Yeah, let's go."

Forcing himself to forget about the brown-haired boy, Kurt climbed into his dad's truck and went back to thinking about room decorations. He wondered if Welton provided a shelf next to his bed. Or a bedside table? Would the bathrooms be community-style or per room?

So much to think about, and the drive only took five minutes. Opening up the back-hatch, it dawned on them how much stuff Kurt had. The truck was _completely_full. They stood in silence for a few moments, simultaneously wondering how they would get everything to his room. Granted, it _was_on the first floor, but it would still take them at least four trips.

After a while, Burt put his hands on his hips and said, "Well, see ya, Kurt!"

"Ha, _funny_, Dad." Kurt said while doing his signature sarcastic head shake. Carole rolled her eyes, "Oh, Burt - be serious. There's a way to carry all of this."

Burt looked back at her, "Oh, yeah, how?"

"Hey, do you need some help?" They turned to find a short (but very fit) fire-red-headed boy standing behind them. "I'm Richard Cameron, by the way, but nearly everybody calls me Cameron." Hair coiffed and uniform pressed to perfection, Kurt could tell that Richard Cameron took everything _very_ seriously. His posture had a military level of attention to it, almost as if he were being tested on it at that very moment. After a few moments, Kurt recognized him as one of the boys from the group they had passed.

Kurt held out his hand, "Hello, I'm Kurt Hummel, and people generally just call me Kurt." Cameron shook it with a force that nearly made Kurt worry for the safety of his skin.

"You moving in?"

"Yes," Kurt said, proudly looking at his truck-load of clothes, "I just transferred here from McKinley High in Lima."

"Ohhh!" Cameron said knowingly, swinging one of the bags over his shoulder. The Hummels, surprised by his forwardness, looked at each other and quickly grabbed bags too. "Sure, sure, I've been through Lima before. Not much there, right? Where are these headed, by the way?"

"Room 140." Kurt said, nearly collapsing under the weight of his shoes.

Cameron thought for a second, "Is that Neil's room? Sorry, we don't really do numbers here. I just know where everybody's rooms are."

Kurt nodded. "Yeah, my roommate is Neil Perry. You know him?"

They were inside, and Cameron turned a corner. "Yeah, sure. Neil's one of my good friend. Too bad about his old roommate, though, I think his name was Brett, or something. Got kicked out in the first week for pot. Looks like he's doing alright for himself, though. His profile picture on facebook is him smoking a hand-made bong."

At the end of the hall, they reached an old, wooden door with a brass plate on the front that read "140". Kurt hesitated with the key in his free hand. The whole idea of moving away from home was starting to hit him. The idea of exactly _how_ far away from home he really was.

Cameron looked around at them during the ensueing pause, "Well, this is it." The pause continued. "Maybe I'll just knock. Neil's probably in there."

Kicking the door, the four of them heard a muted, "It's open!" from within. Kurt turned the knob cautiously, nudging the door open with his shoulder.

Kurt walked into his new home. A (very) small 10 by 12 room that was furnished with two beds, two desks, a (very, very) small closet and no bathroom. Seated at the desk on the right side of the room was a tall, brown-haired boy with one of the most beautiful faces Kurt had ever seen. The boy stood up and held out his hand as Kurt dropped the bag he was holding, "Hi," (God, his voice was _gorgeous_) "I'm Neil. You must be Kurt?"

Kurt just nodded for a few seconds, "Yeah, yes, hi, I'm Kurt. Nice to meet you."

Neil smiled at him. Kurt had never seen teeth quite that perfect. "Nice to meet you too." Pause. "So, ah, do you need any help with your things?"

"Oh, no that's oka-"

"Of course we need his help!" Cameron said, dropping his bag (rather ungracefully, making Kurt cringe). "Come on, Neil. You need to _see_the amount of stuff this guy is bringing in here."

The five of them walked back to the car, intermittently making introductions with the Hummels. "So, how was the drive from Lima?"

"Not bad," Carole said. "No traffic on the way up."

"That's good." Neil said politely. "My old roommate was actually from Lima as well. I think he might be at McKinley now. Did you know Brett Bigby?"

Kurt laughed. "Yes, I knew Brett. I just didn't know that he had a last name."

Neil returned the laugh. "Yeah, yeah, Brett was an interesting character, but I guess it was all for the best."

"Yep," Kurt said sarcastically. "Now he's free to kill all of his remaining brain cells with the rest of the teenage Lima population."

Between the five of them, they managed to move all of Kurt's belongings in three trips. Finally getting to sit down on his bed (only one small square of which was not covered in bags), Cameron said, "Well, I'll see you guys at dinner! Neil, study group tonight?"

Neil nodded back at him, "Sure, I'll be there." Cameron gave him a cheesy thumbs up, (it was all Kurt could do to keep from snorting) and left to go back to his own room.

Burt walked over to his son, and said, "Well, I guess this is goodbye." He looked like he was about to cry.

Carole put a hand on his shoulder, "Burt, don't be like that. We'll see him in less than a month when he comes home for Christmas."

Burt just shook his head in wonderment, "But now it's like he's all grown up." The father and son hugged each other, just standing in the middle of the room, not knowing whether or not they would ever see their old life together again. When they finally pulled apart, Burt said, "Make me proud, son, okay?" A tear glimmered on his cheek.

Kurt desperately tried to hold his smile. Unable to talk, he just nodded at his father, keeping that tight smile on his face. Carole gave Kurt a hug as well and kissed him on the cheek. Before Kurt could ever register that they were leaving, the door was shut, and he was alone.

Well, alone with Neil. Before Kurt could turn around, Neil was smoking a cigarette. Taken aback, Kurt said stupidly, "Um, you're allowed to smoke in the dorms?"

Neil snorted, completely losing the good boy act that he had put on for Kurt's parents. "Oh, funny too." Neil navigated around Kurt's belongings and sat down at his desk. "Yeah, so, there's room in the closet for your clothes, also two shelves in the dresser. Don't mind me, I'll probably leave soon."

Kurt took a deep breath and started unpacking his things. He vaguely wondered if he'd ever get used to the smokefilled air, but, mostly, he strategized as to how to move himself in. He started to unpack his non-uniform clothes (only allowed on weekends and when going off campus). "So, Neil, where are you from?"

Without turning around, he said, "Detroit."

Kurt nodded, putting a fitted t-shirt in one of his alloted drawers. After a few seconds of silence, he sputtered out, "So...like 8 Mile?"

Neil rolled his eyes, "...Really original."

For a while, neither one of them spoke. Neil eventually turned on a rap Pandora station to accompany his Facebook scrolling. Slowly, the mass of stuff that resided in the middle of Kurt's floor was neatly pilled into shelves and hung in the closet. His bedside shelves fit nicely in the space between the entryway and the bed. After making his bed, Kurt collapsed on top of it. He knew that he would eventually have to recreate his Wall of Gaga from home, but, for now, he could take a break.

He figured he should try at least one more time to talk to his roommate. For five minutes, he sat in deep thought, trying desperately to think of something normal to say. All the obvious questions seemed so stupid to Kurt, so he finally settled on, "So, you guys are studying on a Saturday night?"

After a second, "Big Latin test on Monday. Everybody who's not Meeks needs the practice. Mostly we just brainstorm ways to sneak in answers."

"Meeks?" Kurt asked, trying not to sound as dumb as he felt.

"Stephen Meeks." Neil talked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Kind of a loser, but extremely helpful when it comes to Latin."

Kurt rolled over onto his side. "Hey, Neil, can I ask you something?"

Turning around to finally look at Kurt. "Yes?"

Kurt sat up. "This might sound weird, but..."

"Just spit it out." He said it so patronizingly.

"I just want this to...come out right." He thought for a second; Kurt could nearly see the 'coming out' joke flicker past Neil's face. "It's just, you were so..._nice_ to my dad and Carole, and, you don't have to like me just because I'm your roommate and all, but..."

Neil shook his head. "Stop talking. Look, Kurt, I'm not intentionally being mean to you; that's just my personality - sarcastic. You happened to catch me on a bad day."

Kurt still looked (and felt) confused. "But...my dad and Carole?"

Neil shrugged, "Good mood, bad mood, doesn't really matter when it comes to parents and teachers. I'm kind of hardwired to make a good impression on adults."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Neil breathed out slowly, "My dad used to work in the auto industry, lots of hands to shake and shit. I grew up learning how to be the golden boy, and manners aren't something you ever really grow out of."

"Okay." Kurt turned to the pile of magazines and photos on his desk, and put his hands on his hips. Picking up the scotch tape and scissors, Kurt got working on the wall next to the small desk. It would not be the masterpiece that he and Mercedes had made together in tenth grade, but it would be good for the rest of the year (or until he could get Mercedes up there for an afternoon).

After half and hour, slaving over his wall, finding the perfect way to fit all the pictures together, and reaching desperately to reach the top of his reach, he managed to create a half-way decent Wall of Gaga. For the rest, he would have to rely on Mother Monster herself to bring it the level of awesome it so clearly lacked.

"_Nice_," Neil said, suddenly behind Kurt. "Gaga is such a genius."

Kurt cocked his head to the side, "Sarcasm?"

Neil shook his head slightly and said firmly, "No." He looked Kurt up and down, "So, I guess it's safe to assume you're gay?"

Kurt nearly jumped back at that. Before he could even respond, Neil said, "It's okay, man. I am too. Mostly gay, at least."

Kurt shook his head, smiling, "Well, you never know, I could be a vagina-loving, Gaga-worshiping, musical theatre kid from central Ohio."

"Yeah," Neil said, clearly sarcastically, "Or you could be _gay_."

Kurt and Neil both laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I suppose I am gay."

Neil nodded, licking his lips subtly, and said, "Well, now that that's out of the way, how about some dinner?"

Kurt snorted. "Sounds good, I'm starving."

Neil grabbed his keys from his desk, and said quietly, staring at Kurt's ass, "Yeah, I can tell."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Sorry I haven't updated in a while, this chapter is longer than most, and M rating finally has legitimacy...did as best I could with it, but it is _definitely_ rough and needs some editting. Still new to this. Please don't judge too harshly.

The Welton Dining Hall was...unimpressive, to say the least. About five seconds after Kurt walked in, he said, "Okay, I _definitely_ need to ask my dad for more spending money."

Neil nearly laughed out loud. "Yeah, it sucks, but the closest thing we have to actual food anywhere near campus is a McDonald's." Kurt made a noise somewhere between a hiss and a whine. "Don't worry, though," Neil said, "It's not _all_ that bad."

Kurt nearly had to plug his nose as they took their trays down the line of food. "Uh-huh, whatever you say."

Walking down the ancient cafeteria line, Kurt attempted to identify the foods that he would soon be eating: _Baked chicken breast, mashed potatoes, boiled green beans, and...was that jello? _"Hi," Kurt said to the boy behind the counter, "Can I get everything except the jello, please?" Neil just said, "Lots of everything."

After Kurt politely said thank you (and Neil declined to say anything more than was absolutely necessary), the two boys walked over to a table in the back. As soon as they sat down, Neil began devouring his food. Kurt hesitated, and his roommate quickly said, "Go ahead, the guys will be here soon."

Kurt slowly took a (very) small bite of the chicken, which was not (or, at least, appeared not to be) raw. Waiting a few seconds to make sure it wasn't poisonous or any other form of deadly, he took another bite. As he cautiously started in on the potatoes, he heard a familiar voice walk over to their side of the room.

It was, of course, Anderson. Kurt could spot those brilliant eyes from the moon. He sauntered over to the table with three boys. One was Cameron and the other two were definitely part of the group that he had passed on the way out of Administration. He appeared to be in the middle of a story.

"So, he says to me, he said, 'Mr. Anderson,'" For this part, Anderson put on a haughty British accent and stood up very straight. _God_, could he be any more perfect? "'_Mr._ Anderson, you are aware that hats are not a part of the school uniform?' I said to him, 'Yes, _Mr._ Morgan, I am aware of that. But, you see, Sir, my ears are cold.' And _he_ said-"

Neil interrupted. "He said, 'Shut the fuck up, Mr. Anderson, I'm trying to have a class.' And _I'm _trying to eat Hell-ton hash in peace, so shut the fuck up."

Anderson rolled his eyes, and sent Neil an air kiss, "Fuck you."

Neil responded, "Yeah, fuck you too. Later tonight?" None of the other guys even looked up; Kurt nearly gaped at their indifference.

Suddenly Cameron blurted, "_Neil_, we're supposed to study tonight, remember?"

Without taking his eyes off of Anderson, "As tempting as that sounds, Cam," He shot a look over at Cameron and rolled his eyes sarcastically, "And it does! _Oh_, it does," He slowly looked back over at Anderson, "I think I'd rather get off than go over irregular Latin verbs for the ten-zillionth time."

"But, _Neil_..." Cameron whined.

Neil's face turned from seductive to annoyed before Kurt had a chance to blink, "Oh, just fuck off, Cam. Meeks'll help you."

After a few seconds of silence, Anderson said. "My place or yours?" The lovers did not break eye contact.

"Yours." Neil said, finally going back to his plate. "Let's let Kurt get settled before we sex-dial him."

Kurt finally spoke up (if only in a timid muttering), "Um, what's sex-dialing?"

One of the other boys snorted loudly, taking large bites of his dinner. "Wow, Neil, nice pick."

Neil just laughed, "Fuck you; he's new." He turned to Kurt and said, "It's when you bring somebody home and you kick your roommate out so you can fuck or whatever."

Kurt just nodded a bit. Before he could respond, Cameron said, "_Jesus_, enough with the fucking already."

"Why, Cameron?" Anderson said, elbowing him sharply, "'Cuz you're not getting any?"

Cameron snorted, "No, _Anderson_. Because you're being so damn rude to Kurt; he's probably freaking out."

Kurt spoke up, a little louder than before. "I'm fine, actually."

One of the unknown boys said, "Well, you look pretty frigid." Everybody laughed (Kurt hoped it was good-natured), "I'm Knox Overstreet, by the way."

Kurt nodded at him, "Hi, I'm Kurt. Kurt Hummel, I guess."

The boy sitting directly across from him stared straight at him in an almost seductive way. Kurt froze in his seat, waiting for the boy to speak, "Charles Dalton." He said in a powerful, sensual voice that made Kurt feel a need to quickly excuse himself from the table.

Neil laughed, "Don't be a douche, Charlie."

"Yeah, I mean, at least give the poor kid a chance to eat his _dinner_." Anderson said, sending Kurt a little wink. "Hey, you know what? Since Neil over here is such an ass-"

"-Or in yours." Neil said quickly.

"-I never got to finish my story." Anderson started telling his story where he left off, and Kurt tried to keep up and laugh in all the right places. But he didn't know any of the boys in the story or what made it so funny. So he just tried to eat as much of the food as he could stomach (wondering how he would be able to smuggle a spice cabinet into the dining hall to make it edible), and tried to assess the guys' personalities. If he was going to be their friend, he could at least try and get to know them.

And he did not take his eyes off of Anderson for more than five seconds.

With Neil gone for at least the next few hours, Kurt made good use of the time to himself. After a quick orgasm to stop thinking about how much he wanted Anderson to give him the look that Charlie Dalton had thrown him at dinner, Kurt opened his computer to check Facebook. Rachel had already posted about fifteen status updates from her post-football practice date with Finn. Mike Chang had sent him a Mafia Wars invite (_again_), and Mercedes had spammed his inbox with messages, asking him about a million questions about Welton.

Seeing that she was online, Kurt decided to send her a chat message:

Kurt: Hey, Mercedes!

Mercedes: KURRRRT! Hi! How are you?

Kurt: I'm really good. All moved in!

Mercedes: That's awesome! How's Welton?

After a moment's hesitation, Kurt replied:

Kurt: It's good! Really, really good!

Mercedes: Really? That's amazing! Have you made any friends? How's your roommate? TELL ME EVERYTHING!

Kurt: Hahaha, yeah, I mean, I've only been here a few hours, but everybody's really friendly, which is nice.

Mercedes: Cool, cool. How's the roommate? What's his name again?

Kurt: Neil Perry, and he's really cool. I mean, I don't think we're going to be best friends, but he'll definitely be good to have around.

Mercedes: Yeah, that's good. You probably don't want to live with your best friend.

Kurt: Probably not, yeah. But it's kind of cool, actually, he's gay too.

Mercedes: ...stop, seriously?

Kurt: Yeah...is that bad?

Mercedes: Well...you don't really have the best history when it comes to living with guys, and now this...

Kurt: No, it's not like that, really. He's already got some guy here (gorgeous, by the way). I mean, I guess it's better than having a super-homophobic roommate.

Mercedes: Yeah...I guess. Lol makes sense.

There was a couple minutes of lag. Kurt opened a new tab and started Stumbling Upon his French fashion interest. He assumed Mercedes was browsing through Pintrest or doing homework or something. Eventually Kurt heard the little 'ping' and went back to Facebook:

Mercedes: Well, Tina and I are going to hang out, so I'll ttyl :)

Something about that message, something quite intangible, made Kurt realize just how far he was from his former life. Kurt nearly broke down at that, physically feeling the pain of leaving home in his stomach. He quickly managed to type:

Kurt: Yeah ttyl :)

Slamming his laptop shut, Kurt curled into a ball at his desk chair and let himself sob. He drowned himself in the feeling of not being able to lean on his father. For the first time in his life, he didn't have his dad there to make everything okay. Granted, he was _nowhere _near independent, but he felt _so_ alone.

He reminded himself that nobody was bullying him hear. Nobody was threatening to _kill_ him at this school. But all his friends back in Lima - he had forgotten was it was like not to have friends. Sure, Mercedes wasn't the most sympathetic friend in the world and Tina had a tendency to obsess over whatever boyfriend she had at the time, but they were _friends_. Somebody to text when you just wanted to get away from it all. Somebody to hang out with on the weekends or after school. Kurt vaguely wondered if he would ever integrate with Neil's friends.

And Neil's friends! _ God_, they were all so...so..._masculine_ and _primitive_ and clearly they hadn't had female interactions in a really long time. How would Kurt ever relate to them? All they ever did was talk about sex and push each other around. The closest Kurt had ever gotten to talking about sex was when Mercedes had asked him about kissing their sophomore year. He vaguely remembered his mother explaining the basics when he was six, but everything else he had figured out from quick google searches that ended as soon as his father called him for dinner.

Kurt slumped over to the bed, and curled up under his sheets. He let the weight of all the change he had (and was about to) experience rush over him as he drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"So, anyway," Neil said, carelessly throwing his Welton blazer and white shirtonto Knox's bed, "I was talking to Pitts and he said he found a way to torrent on school internet without getting caught."

Anderson literally froze while unbuttoning his shirt, "_Stop_, seriously?"

As he sat down to take off his shoes and socks, "Yup, I'm downloading the software right now."

"Huh," The shorter boy continued the routine clothing removal, placing his disgarded items neatly on his own chair, "You'll have to show it to me later."

The taller boy walked over seductively, "Sure," he said, growling deeply, "After."

Neil leaned down and kissed Anderson roughly. Moving their mouths quickly and sharply, the boys let their tongues leap between the two of them, exploring familiar crevasses. Neil pulled his partner close to him, pressing the two of them firmer together while he bit down on Anderson's bottom lip. The shorter boy groaned deeply in pleasure.

Between kisses, the two moved over to Anderson's bed. The taller boy straddled the shorter one and began working on his neck. Anderson gasped in pleasure as Anderson alternating between licking, kissing, sucking, and biting the soft skin on his neck. Neil started saying between kisses, "So, is it just me, or is my new roommate really fucking lame?"

Anderson replied, "Actually, I think he's really fucking _hot_," Neil bit down sharply on Anderson's ear, making the boy cry out and backtrack, "But, it looks like Charlie's already got dibs, so, whatever." Neil went back to his work.

"Yeah, I guess he is attractive." Neil mused, "But that would break my rule."

Anderson rolled his eyes, and pushed his growing erection onto Neil's, "Yeah, becuase you're _so_ concerned with rules."

Neil moved to kiss Anderson's mouth, pinning his partner's hands over his head. He moved his tongue back and forth over the boy's top lip. For a moment, the shorter boy stopped and looked into his partner's eyes. They were a darker brown than his own day-old-latté and there was something about him...

_No_, Neil thought, _Stop that. Remember how fucked you were last time this happened?_ "Are you okay?" Anderson asked, cautiously, knowing how tempermental Neil could get.

He was back, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He kissed Anderson chastely. Rolling his hips, he gave the short boy an arrogant smirk. "Just thinking about fucking hot you are."

Anderson laughed as Neil brushed their lips together. The taller boy moved down his partners body, kissing his soft, pale skin every few centimeters. Tilting his head up, he saw Anderson with his eyes closed, breathing heavily in anticipation. "Look at me." Neil commanded.

The two boys locked eyes. Neil continued to give the shorter boy a smoldering stare as he pulled off both of their pants and underwear. Anderson could not look away from the boy's soft brown eyes, as the rest of his body burned, waiting for the familiar pleasures that awaited him.

When they were both completely naked, pants lying in a pile on the floor, Neil began to stroke Anderson's fully-grown erection. The two did not break eye contact until Neil suddenly wrapped his mouth around Anderson's member, and the boy threw his head back in surprise and pleasure. "Fucking, damn it, Neil, _god_," Anderson gasped.

Neil moved his mouth up and down, using his tongue to lick the soft flesh under Anderson's (better) head. His hands manuevered around, doing everything from tracing lazy patterns on the inside of his partner's thigh to palming his own erection. All the while he continued to watch Anderson shudder and gasp in the wake of the pleasure that he was receiving.

For a moment, Neil reached his hand up to outline the squares of Anderson's toned abs. "You know," Neil said, "You are so _fucking_ hot when you're under me."

Anderson looked down at the taller boy's sweaty face, "Yeah, well, you're fucking _gorgeous_ when you stop a blow job in the middle to tell me how hot I am." Neil resisted the hand that lightly pushed him back towards his partner's member. Crawling back up on top of Anderson, Neil bit down hard on the boy's neck, leaving an angry red mark, bigger and darker than the others from that night. Growling low in Anderson's ear, Neil said, "You do what I say, got it?

Anderson nodded quickly, "Your wish is my command," he whispered back.

Neil moved so his face was over his partner's, "Good," he said, "Now kiss me." Anderson instantly closed the distance between their mouths and kissed his partner roughly. Neil gave him a soft, little smirk as he rubbed his thumb back and forth on the shorter boy's neck. Leaning over to Anderson's bedside table, he skillfully opened the bottom drawer to grab their bottle of lube and a condom. Surveying the decreased level, Neil said, "Fuck, we've really been going at it. Want to buy some more sometime this week?"

Anderson nodded slowly, tracing lines down Neil's torso. While the tall boy skillfully ripped the condom open and slid the thin rubber on his erection, the short boy grabbed the nearly empty bottle and began working the substance over Neil. Letting himself given into the pleasure of being rubbed down, Neil threw his head back for a moment. He quickly stole the bottle away from Anderson and, spilled some onto his hands, started fingering his partner.

He started with one finger, marvelling at how well he knew how to turn the boy onto him. Curving his finger upward to graze over his prostate, Neil felt Anderson's muscles contract around his finger and watched him cry out in pleasure. Amused, Neil leaned down so his mouth was right next to Anderson's ear. Adding another finger, he spoke sharply to his partner, "That's right, _scream_ for me. You know you want to. You want to cry out from how good it feels. How good _I _make you feel. Am I right?"

Anderson could barely speak, "Oh, yes, _yes_, Neil, it's _so _good. Don't stop, don't stop."

"No, don't worry, I'm not going to stop," Neil added a third finger and quickened his pace, "Moan for me. I want to hear how much you want me."

"Yes, _yes, YES_, Oh my god, Neil, you are so fucking hot." Neil laid quick kisses along Anderson's jaw line, hitting his prostate again, "Fucking _god_, I want you inside me."

Without another word, Neil removed to his fingers, letting one linger over Anderson's entrance. Before the shorter boy even had time to whine in the absense, the taller boy was spreading his legs wide and penetrating him. Both boys let out a gasp as they connected. For a moment, neither one of them moved. Neil caught Anderson's gaze, and slowly winked at him, which made both boys laugh.

The taller boy began to move his hips back and forth, making both boys moan with pleasure. "_Fuck_, Neil." Anderson said, "Fuck, that's good."

Neil kept up his pace and smirked at his partner, "_Yeah_, I know it's good. Do you want me? Do you want me to make you come? How much do you want that?"

Anderson started to move his hips in time with Neil's, "Fuck, _Neil, _yes, _God, yes_, make me fucking come all over you."

Neil moved his hips faster, curving himself in a way to hit the shorter boy's prostate with every thrust, making him cry out sharply. Moving a hand to Anderson's erection, Neil moved his hand up and down, twisting and putting pressure in all the right places. "_God_, Anderson, I'm so fucking close, I'm gonna-" With a gasp, Neil came spectacularly inside of Anderson. Shaking with pleasure, Neil continued to hit Anderson's prostate and jerk him off. He watched Anderson writhe underneath him, not being able to handle so much pleasure. Neil knew he wouldn't last much longer.

At the moment the thought entered his consciousness, Anderson came into his partner's hand, breathing heavily and repeating Neil's name over and over again. The taller boy pulled out of his partner and laid down next to him. Between lacing kisses around his partner's jaw line, Neil whispered in his ear, "_God_, you're so gorgeous. I could fuck you all night. How much do you want me? Tell me how much."

Anderson turned his head and kissed Neil squarely on the mouth before the taller boy got up to get dressed. "I've got some homework to do before we study tomorrow. Want to stay and do it together?"

Neil grabbed his cigarettes and lighter out of his pants pocket, "Sure," he muttered, experting lighting up.

Neil let Anderson share the cigarett while they caught up on some homework. Every so often, Neil would grab his friend and kiss the living daylights out of him and then go back to work as if nothing had happened. All the while, and even after Neil finally left to go to bed, Anderson could not shake the thought of the new tall boy who had entered his partner's life and bedroom...

About fifteen minutes later, Kurt jolted up in bed, suddenly awoke. It took him a few seconds and a repeated action to realize that he was woken by a knock at the door. He stumbled out of bed, not even caring about the disheveled state of his clothes, and ambled over to the door.

He pulled it open to find Knox Overstreet, one of the boys from dinner, with a large backpack swung over one shoulder. "Oh, hi, Knox, what's up?" Kurt attempted a smile; it hurt his face.

Knox smiled back. "Hey, yeah, I just, you know, I got kicked-out because of the guys, and I figured I'd stop by and see how you were doing."

Kurt shrugged. "I'm good. Kinda bored though." Awkward pause. "...Do you want to come in?"

Knox glanced around, not looking Kurt in the eyes, "Oh, well, I mean, I've got a ton of work to do, and I'm guessing it'd be pretty boring for you, since you don't have classes yet and all..."

Kurt laughed a little, "Actually, I could use a good motivator. Nolan gave me this huge stack of makeup work that I haven't really made any progress on."

So the two boys worked in near silence. Kurt played his Easy Listening Pandora station ("Oh, you like listening to music while studying too? Awesome!" Knox had said), and they sat at opposite desks. Occasionally, they would ask each other questions.

Knox asked, "So why did you switch from your old school in the middle of the year?"

Kurt gave the standard answer that Burt and Carole had drilled into him. "It wasn't a good environment, and I figured Welton would be a better fit."

Knox nodded, "Okay," and after a few seconds, he added, "But what's the real reason?"

Kurt let out a heavy sigh, "There was this bully at my old school who made it impossible for me to be there anymore."

"Impossible how?"

"He threatened to kill me."

"Oh."

Silence resumed. About ten minutes later, Kurt said, "How long have you been at Welton?"

"This is my 6th year." Knox said proudly. "Started in 6th grade with the rest of the guys, never went back to the old life."

"Oh my _god_," Kurt exclaimed, genuinely amazed, "That's crazy, I mean...wow, 6th grade? Didn't you miss your parents?"

Knox nodded, "Yeah, I cried like every night for the first two weeks. Finally, Blaine beat me up because he wasn't getting any sleep, and I stopped." Knox laughed, thinking about the fond memories.

Kurt looked confused for a moment, "...Blaine?" He finally asked.

"Yeah," Knox said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Blaine, my roommate...Blaine Anderson. You know - he was at dinner with us."

"_Oh_," Kurt realized, "_That_ Anderson." It had not occured to him until that moment that he had never heard Anderson's (or, rather, _Blaine's_) first name.

"Yeah, yeah," Knox said.

"So, you've been living together since you started?" Kurt asked with wide eyes. He could barely share a room with his step-brother Finn for six _seconds_ without killing him. He couldn't imagine six _years_ of Anderson.

"Welton doen't like to move people around unless there's a major issue." Knox shrugged, "You know, if they fight all the time or if one tries to kill the other. That kind of thing."

Kurt nearly gaped, "You just said that he _beat the crap_ out of you when you were _eleven_."

Knox snorted, "Yeah, that was always Blaine's style. I mean, it made sense at the time, though. I was such a pussy until he _literally _ knocked some sense into me."

"Good lord," Kurt said, shaking his head and laughing, "You Welton kids are ridiculous."

Knox leaned forward and deadpanned, "That's what happens when there's no girls around." They both laughed together. A loose thought ran through Kurt's conscieness - _Maybe this won't be so bad after all_.

"Well, at least now you guys have me." Kurt said, making sure to give off an air of flippancy, "I may not be a girl, but I do confuse people over the phone."

Knox laughed, "You know," he said, suddenly serious, "Sometimes I get really jealous of what Neil and Blaine have. I mean, I'm not gay, but, it's not even because of the sex, it's just..."

"They have each other." Kurt finished.

"Yeah! Exactly!" Knox sat forward, excited. "But then, in the end, I guess I just always realize how meaningless it all is to them, and I realize I'd much rather find a girl that I actually care about, and, I don't know, maybe even love."

Kurt smiled, "Yeah, I know what you mean. Hopeless romantic since 1994."

Knox nodded knowingly, and as the boys talked well into the night, they both felt a sense of relief. All their lives they had been alone, surrounded by a world of people whose only concerns were sex and drugs. Now they were realizing just how possible it was for other people to want a life filled with love. When Neil finally got back, Knox went back to his room to get some sleep before what he called "Study Sunday".

As Kurt crawled under his bedding for the first time, he smiled to himself. It seemed as though he was going to be okay at Welton. And when he closed his eyes, allowing sleep to wash over him, a single image of Blaine Anderson's perfect face floated through his mind...


	5. Chapter 5

Kurt got acclimated to the Welton culture fairly quickly. Within the first two weeks, he understood that _everybody_ hoarded food and other contraband items in their rooms. Like all the other boys, he spent the majority of his time in the cafeteria snacking on fries and pizza (of which there was a never ending supply from 7 AM to Midnight). He had only been there two weeks, and he noticed that his favorite pair of jeans didn't fit anymore; it nearly made him cry. But Kurt was happier than he had ever been at McKinley. He actually had _friends_.

He had also settled into a pretty solid routine. It was his third Monday at Welton, and Kurt's alarm clock went off at 7:05. Struggling to keep his eyes open, Kurt pushed himself out of bed and took his facial creams to the bathroom to start his morning moisturizing routine. As he rubbed six different products onto his cheeks and forehead, he thought back to the night before. He and Knox had hung out in Kurt's room until two in the morning watching _How I Met Your Mother_ and eating popcorn. He nearly choked on his toothpaste, remembering Knox's reactions to certain moments.

One of the good things about Welton was the uniforms. Granted, they weren't Kurt's first choice of color scheme, but it sure made it easier to get dressed in the morning. He slung his backpack over his shoulder, wincing under the weight of all his textbooks. He glanced over at Neil, still sound asleep and shirtless. Shaking his head, Kurt forced himself to remember that doing anything more than sleeping in the same room with his roommate would be disastrous. But just because Neil was off-limits, that didn't mean Kurt could enjoy the eye candy he provided.

By 7:45 Kurt was walking down to the cafeteria to inhale some cereal and coffee before his first class. Kurt lived in Wesley Hall, a dorm for all the juniors and seniors at Welton. He personally couldn't imagine a day without breakfast, but nearly all the students who lived there wanted the extra half hour of sleep before school. The only people downstairs were Pitts, Meeks, Cameron, and one senior who nobody talked to.

The boys mostly ate in silence. Meeks and Pitts occasionally brought up a new kind of something about the internet, and Cameron warned them that it was really easy to get caught. Kurt internally laughed at how anal Cam was about following rules.

At 8:20, the boys returned their dirty dishes and made their ways to their respective classes. Pitts had Spanish, Cameron and Meeks had Latin, and Kurt made his way to Honors French on the third floor. The worst part about the Welton schedule was that classes went from 8:30 in the morning until 4:10 in the afternoon. Seven classes, 50 minutes each, 1 hour for lunch, Monday to Friday - Kurt was already having trouble catching up on sleep.

French was quickly becoming one of Kurt's favorite classes. Not only because Knox was also there, but because he was getting honors credit for concepts he had already learned. He was already acing the class.

Kurt took his regular seat next to Knox in the second row (another good thing about Welton - no alphabetical seating charts). He was in the middle of a yawn, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, when Kurt plopped down and loudly said, "Hi!"

Knox cringed at the sharpness of Kurt's voice. "_Gah_, Kurt. Stop. It's _morning_."

"See, _this_ is why you need to come to breakfast." Kurt said, making a point of carefully placing his messenger bag on the floor. "We shoot up caffeine together - intravenously."

Knox shook his head, rapidly blinking his eyes. "Somehow, that doesn't really strike me as healthy."

"Yeah," Kurt agreed, "But we'll all be dead soon and none of it will matter."

"It's too early for your morbidity." Knox deadpanned.

"It's never too early for realism."

With that, the teacher called the class to order and started the daily routine of conjugating irregular verbs and teaching complex grammatical concepts. Kurt and Knox discussed _How I Met Your Mother_ and how Kurt would make fun of the kids from his old school to their face (in French, of course).

The bell rang, and Kurt packed up his stuff to walk with Knox to Pre-Calc. "No, no, no, how on _earth_ can you ship Fremione?"

"_Kurt_, come on. Don't make this a big deal." Knox begged.

Kurt held his face in his hands, still walking, "I don't know if I can be friends with you anymore."

Both boys laughed together, not noticing that one of their friends had begun walking next to Kurt. "Hello, gentlemen. Excited for mathematics?"

They turned to see Charlie Dalton walking with them. "Hey, Charlie." They said together.

"Wow, you two could be the same person. When's the wedding?" He laughed at his own joke.

"Very funny, Charlie, but I don't think Kurt and I are going to ruin our friendship with sex."

"What a shame." Charlie said, more to himself. "I had already bought you a toaster." A few seconds passed as they continued walking, and Charlie said, "I was actually hoping I could have a moment alone with Kurt."

Kurt eyes shot open. He could feel his breath quickening and ordered his lungs to stop that. It must be nothing. Just a question about math. That was it. After all, why would somebody as shamelessly good-looking at Charlie Dalton ask out somebody as average as Kurt? Realizing that he had been silent for too long, Kurt said, "Sure, yeah, let's go."

Knox turned the corner to walk down the math hall. He turned around and said, "See you in class."

"Yeah, see you." Kurt called after him. Charlie pulled Kurt by the front of his blazer over to the side of the hallway. The taller boy felt his heart speed up again and he forced his face to remain neutral.

"So," Charlie said smoothly, "How are you?"

Kurt smiled. "Good, good." Five seconds of silence passed. "A little tired, getting used to not sleeping, I guess."

Charlie nodded. "Sounds about right." He smiled widely; Kurt admired how perfect his teeth were. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to come over and study with me later today." He leaned closer to Kurt, not breaking eye contact. "You know, we've got that test coming up in math, and a paper due in English." He leaned in even closer. His eyes glanced down at Kurt's mouth for only a nanosecond, but that was all Kurt needed to catch his drift. "And you're just so...so talented."

Kurt could feel his palms getting sweaty. The roof of his mouth was completely dry, and he had trouble forming any thoughts other than: _Should I have worn the blue tie today instead of the red? It really does make my eyes pop. _Finally realizing that he needed to answer, Kurt took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, sure, I mean, I'd love to." _Well, that was a superb display of intelligence._

Charlie flashed another perfect smile at Kurt, "Perfect, so I'll pick you up after English?"

Kurt forced a calm smile, "Yeah, yeah, sure, I'll see you then."

"So, um, shall we?" Charlie asked, gesturing down the hall to their next class.

The two boys walked together in silence. Kurt kept glancing over at Charlie. Charles Dalton - perfect posture, hair, smile, eyes - _everything _about him was perfect. He didn't even awkwardly look over at Kurt after making himself completely vulnerable by asking him to "study". Kurt adjusted the strap on is messenger bag awkwardly, unable to imagine ever having that much confidence.

When they got to class, Kurt took his regular seat next to Knox. "What was that about?"

Kurt smiled slyly, "Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" Knox rolled his eyes, and nodded at Kurt knowingly.

The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind of anxiety and anticipation. Every minute seemed to last an hour, and Kurt could not stop thinking about Charlie and studying and _this afternoon_. Thoughts flew through his mind from _Charlie is just about the hottest guy I've ever talked to _to _Why on Gaga's earth would he ask _me_ to study with him?_ With every passing class, Kurt's excitement fluctuated and grew to unimaginable heights.

By the time he saw Charlie again in English, Kurt flinched and nearly fell out of his seat when the boy walked into the room. And he couldn't help but notice the way that Charlie wouldn't stop looking at him while the teacher talked about symbolism in _Macbeth_. Something about a dagger and a sonnet. Kurt loved Shakespeare, of course, but when a beautiful boy is staring at you across the room and shooting sex daggers from his eyes, it's kind of hard to pay attention to a sixty year old muttering about a fictional murderer.

As the bell rang, Kurt nearly jumped out of his seat. The teacher called, "Don't forget that your papers are due on Wednesday, people. No late submissions. Have a nice day." Charlie sauntered over to the tall boy, grinning seductively. _God, how could that be so perfect too_, Kurt wondered to himself. "So, you ready to make me smarter?" Charlie said.

Kurt felt a smile slide across his face, "Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be."

The two boys walked down the hall together. Kurt managed to steal a few glances in Charlie's direction. His strong, confident demeanor showed as he walked with focus, never faltering in his gaze. Kurt was too consumed with thoughts to try starting a conversation; Charlie simply did not find the silence uncomfortable.

When they arrived at the dorms, Charlie led Kurt down a hall very near to his own. A few doors later, and Charlie pulled out a small silver key, identical to the one Kurt had been issued. Charlie looked at him, flashed a smirk, and, without a word, opened the door.

"Welcome," Charlie said, "to The Nest." And a nest it _was_. Kurt's eyes scanned the room at top speed, and his brain processed even faster. The room was divided in half by a piece of duct tape. On the right half, the bed was neatly made, the floor was clean enough for a seven-course meal, and the desk was organized. On the left half, pure chaos was the only determinable thing. It was literally an exact opposite of the other side of the room. Charlie walked over to the fridge and pulled out two cokes, handing one to a very surprised and confused Kurt Hummel. "It's overwhelming, I know."

Kurt shrugged it off. "I don't know, it's very interestingly designed. The dichotomy between chaos and serenity - it's incredibly well done."

Charlie snorted. "Yeah, we worked really hard on this. At least, Cameron did."

Kurt nodded, laughing, "Yeah, he does seem like the type." They paused, looked at each other, and looked away. "So, should we get started?"

Charlie nodded quickly, almost nervously, "Um, sure, sounds great. If you want, we can just sit on the bed." He jerked his arm, motioning in the general direction of the bed (unmade, covered in t-shirts and boxers).

Kurt took a deep breath, and walked over with the short, brunette boy who was all eyes and perfect teeth. They looked at each other for a few seconds, then broke away, laughing nervously. "We should get started," Kurt said distantly.

Knox breathed out, looking straight at Kurt's jaw line, "Yeah, we should."

Before Kurt could even register that he was being watched, Charlie's mouth (a _boy_'s mouth) was on his cheek, pressing light, long kisses along his jaw line. Kissing further and further, getting dangerously close to his lips, Kurt pulled his cheek away, and said the first thought that popped into his head, "Are you sure about this?"

Without taking his eyes off of Kurt, Charlie leaned in slowly. He got closer and closer, and Kurt started to lean in as well. Charlie's eyes, brown and mysterious, pierced him with a look that made Kurt feel like he was staring right into his soul. Their foreheads touched, and Charlie let out a shudder, smiling to himself. He put his hand on Kurt's perfectly soft cheek, and moved the rest of his face forward. Before Kurt had a moment to question it, those perfect lips were on top of his, kissing him gently, slowly. And Kurt was kissing back (kissing a _boy_ - a _really, really hot_ boy), finding his rhythm with Charlie and moving together. Kurt ran his fingers through Charlie's hair, while Charlie moved his hand between Kurt's chest, back, and leg. Kurt didn't ever want Charlie's lips to leave his own.

After a few minutes (maybe a few hours?) of kissing, Charlie pulled back and said to Kurt, "You have amazing lips."

"Then why did you stop?" Kurt said, more sassy and seductive than he had intended. He liked that.

Charlie laughed, running a hand through his hair, "Because I actually have to do my math homework."

Kurt smiled, "It's okay. Do you want my help?"

"I don't think I'll be able to work at all with you here." Charlie pressed a soft kiss on Kurt's lips, followed by multiple kisses on his jaw line until he reached the boy's ear, "When can I see you again?"

Kurt shrugged, reveling in how much he loved the feeling of Charlie's rough lips on his neck, "Um, whenever you're free. Seriously, I don't ever do anything just text me or something."

Charlie laughed into the boy's neck. "Okay, good." He pressed one last kiss on Kurt's cheek. "Now, go, before I decide that I want later to be now."

Kurt kissed Charlie on the cheek, and smiled at him as he walked out of the messy boy's room. He didn't even care that he had been in a room full of garbage and cum stained underwear. It did not matter than he had been sitting on a mattress that reeked of pizza and weed. The only thing that was in his mind was the boy who had just kissed him. Kurt Hummel - gay teenager extraordinaire - had been kissed _on the mouth_ by a smart, charming, sexy boy who thought he was irresistible.

Kurt prayed that Neil wouldn't be in the room.


End file.
